Directs the President to convene a Commission to Educate our Nation's Teachers and Students on Financial Literacy Skills to examine, identify, and report to the President, the congressional leadership, and the chief executive officers of the States on government policies that promote economic and financial literacy.
[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2990 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2990
To establish a Commission to Educate our Nation's Teachers and Students
on Financial Literacy Skills.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 3, 2003
Mrs. Biggert (for herself, Mr. Scott of Georgia, Mr. Hinojosa, Mr.
Ross, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Lucas of Kentucky, Mrs. Maloney, Ms. Lee, Mr.
Baker, Ms. Hart, Mr. Ose, Mr. Kanjorski, Mr. Gonzalez, Ms. Harris, and
Mr. Emanuel) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a Commission to Educate our Nation's Teachers and Students
on Financial Literacy Skills.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. COMMISSION TO EDUCATE OUR NATION'S TEACHERS AND STUDENTS ON
FINANCIAL LITERACY SKILLS.
(a) Findings.--The Congress finds as follows:
(1) A range of trends points to the need for individuals in
the United States to receive a practical economics education
that will give the individuals tools to make responsible
choices about their limited financial resources, choices which
will impact individuals' credit ratings.
(2) An individual's credit rating will affect his or her
ability to buy a home, finance education, establish a small
business and prepare for retirement.
(3) Building and maintaining sound credit requires
knowledge of personal finance and economics.
(4) Basic economics education is a key to understanding
personal finance.
(5) A number of Federal departments and agencies have
implemented programs to improve personal finance and economics
education, including the Departments of Education, Labor,
Treasury, and Housing and Urban Development, as well as the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Board of Governors
of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Trade Commission and
the Securities Exchange Commission.
(6) Coordinating existing Federal efforts, maximizing the
impact of existing private sector efforts, and identifying and
promoting best practices are necessary to improve economic and
personal finance education and to improve individuals' credit
and economic well-being.
(b) Authority To Establish Commission.--Not later than January 31,
2005, the President shall convene a Commission to Educate our Nation's
Teachers and Students on Financial Literacy Skills (hereafter in this
section referred to as the ``Commission'') to examine and identify
government policies that promote economic and financial literacy.
(c) Scope of the Commission.--The scope of the Commission shall
consist of issues relating to economic and financial education.
(d) Purposes.--The purposes of the Commission shall be--
(1) to make recommendations on integrating economic and
personal finance education into primary, secondary, and
postsecondary curricula;
(2) to identify and make recommendations regarding best
practices in economic and personal finance education;
(3) to make recommendations on coordinating existing
Federal and private sector economic and financial literacy
education programs; and
(4) to carry out such other duties as the Commission
members deem appropriate, consistent with this Act.
(e) Commission Members.--To carry out the purposes of the
Commission, the Commission shall include--
(1) three members appointed by the President, one of whom
shall be designated by the President as the Chairperson of the
Commission;
(2) two members appointed by the Speaker of the House of --
--Representatives;
(3) two members appointed by the minority leader of the
House of Representatives;
(4) two members appointed by the majority leader of the
Senate; and
(5) two members appointed by the minority leader of the
Senate.
(f) Appointment Requirements.--The Commission members shall--
(1) be appointed not later than January 31, 2005; and
(2) include at least one representative of each of the
following groups:
(A) Primary and secondary educators.
(B) Postsecondary educators.
(C) The financial services industry.
(D) State and local governments.
(E) organizations involved in promoting economics
education.
(g) Commission Administration.--
(1) Administration.--In administering this section, the
Chairperson of the Commission shall--
(A) request the cooperation and assistance of such
Federal departments and agencies as may be appropriate
in the carrying out of this section;
(B) furnish all reasonable assistance to State
agencies, area agencies, and other appropriate
organizations to enable them to provide testimony and
otherwise participate in the Commission's hearings;
(C) make available for public comment a proposed
agenda for the Commission that reflects to the greatest
extent possible the purposes for the Commission set out
in this section;
(D) prepare and make available background materials
for the use of participants in the Commission that the
Chairperson considers necessary; and
(E) appoint and fix the pay of such additional
personnel as may be necessary to carry out the
provisions of this section without regard to provisions
of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments
in the competitive service, and without regard to
chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such
title relating to classification and General Schedule
pay-rates.
(2) Duties of the chairperson.--The Chairperson of the
Commission shall, in carrying out the responsibilities and
functions of the Chairperson under this section, ensure that--
(A) the Commission shall hold hearings in
accordance with this section;
(B) the Commission shall be conducted in a manner
that ensures broad participation of Federal, State, and
local agencies and private organizations,
professionals, and others involved in economic
education; and
(C) the agenda prepared under paragraph (1)(C) for
the Commission is published in the Federal Register.
(3) Nonapplication of federal advisory committee act.--The
provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C.
App.) shall not apply to the Commission.
(h) Hearings.--
(1) In general.--The Commission shall hold public hearings
to receive testimony related to the recommendations to be
included in the Commission's report identified in subsection
(h)(3).
(2) Field hearings.--The Commission shall conduct at least
4 hearings to be held in different States.
(i) Report.--
(1) In general.--The Commission shall prepare a report
describing the activities and recommendations of the Commission
and shall submit the report to the President, the Speaker and
Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, the Majority
and Minority Leaders of the Senate, and the chief executive
officers of the States not later than July 1, 2005.
(2) Approval of report.--Approval of the Commission's
report shall require a majority of the Commission.
(3) Report contents.--In addition to summarizing the
activities of the Commission, the report shall include
proposals for improving economics and finance education,
including recommendations for--
(A) integrating high quality, standards-based
economic and financial education in the curricula of
primary, secondary and postsecondary education;
(B) identifying best practices in the teaching of
economics and personal finance including teacher
training and development of curricular materials;
(C) coordinating and enhancing existing federal and
private sector efforts to improve economic education
and financial literacy;
(D) assessing and identifying best practices for
the training of teachers and educators in economics and
finance; and
(E) developing models for public-private
partnerships in the promotion of economic and finance
education.
(j) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term ``State''
means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the
Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and any other territory or possession
of the United States.
(k) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated for fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2004,
such sums as are necessary to carry out this section.
(l) Financial Obligation for Fiscal Year 2005.--The financial
obligation for the Commission for fiscal year 2005 shall not exceed
$500,000.
(m) Contracts.--The Chairperson of the Commission may enter into
contracts to carry out the Chairperson's responsibilities under this
section. The Chairperson shall enter into a contract on a sole-source
basis to ensure the timely completion of the Commission's activities.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H7798)
Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Referred to the Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Education Reform.
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